cmaxcliff Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hello-I have a 2003 SV with 16x7 ET19 wagon wheels that needs tires. I can't stand the look of the wheels and I am looking at VTO 15x7 Minilite copies. I want to make sure that I stay in the same weight range and I will also need to choose the correct offset and at least as tall tire size. PA roads are quite rough. Advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Welcome to the site Cmax. I don't know what part of Pa. you're from, but in a couple of weeks, there will be at least 8 of us 7 owners taking our cars on the track at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. If you can join us you could get a look at a lot of different types of wheel and tire combos. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaxcliff Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 I wish I could but I will be at Mid-Ohio vintage racing my '55 Porsche. I will keep a look out for 7 events in the SE PA area. What other offsets have worked well on the SV besides 19mm? The cycle fender brackets are close to the tires but I guess I could change that if I needed to. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Welcome aboard Cmax. I have an '04 SV that came with the 17" wagon wheels. I didn't care for their looks either. I never did weigh just the wheels but when I changed to 15 x 7 Panasport wheels with 205/50-15 R888 tires, the combo weighed in at 4 lb less per wheel/tire. There is a handy tire size comparator at http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for one that will compare several sizes at once to your base size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaxcliff Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Skip- Thanks. What offset did you go with? Does the car feel different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Cmax, My Panasport wheels were from a Miata with a 4 x 100 bolt circle and 38mm offset. I had adapters made earlier on for my Kosei K1-TS (neon orange) track wheels which also worked with the Panasports. The adapters are 22mm thick which made the wheels and tires just fit under the front cycle fenders. I did have to adjust (bend) the fender stays a small amount on one side for clearance. The adapters weigh 2 lb each including the extra studs and nuts so the net difference was only 2 lb per wheel. I checked into new Panasports for Caterham bolt pattern and offset but they would have to have been custom made at around $500 each to fit the Caterham offset and bolt pattern. The small difference in weight wasn't very noticeable and soon disappeared. The vast difference in grip was immediately noticed and appreciated and still makes me smile every time I throw the car into a corner. I recently picked up a very nice used set of Chaparral wheels in Miata bolt pattern. The Chapperrals are another Minilite knockoff. Last I checked they sell for around $150 new. These have Dunlop Direzza Star Spec tires and I use them for the street and the Panasports with the R888s are reserved for track days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaxcliff Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Here is the link to the VTO wheels that I am considering.... http://vtowheels.webplus.net/page15.html The 15x7 108mm bolt pattern is available in a 12mm or 25mm offset which is said to be 4.5" or 5" backspace. The wagon wheels have 4.8"(as close as I could measure) backspace so I am thinking that the 4.5" would be best. 5 wheels with caps, nuts, and stems cost $900 shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hmm I'm also thinking of getting some 15x7 panasports. http://www.spruellmotorsport.com/select-marque-c-2066_2152_2267.html Also interested in what the correct backspacing would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaxcliff Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Skip-I think I get it. Your Panasports fit well with 38-22=16mm offset and the wheel/tire combo is lighter than the wagon wheels with tires. Do you think that Panasports are really better in function than other Minilite copies? I really don't drive the car that hard since it is just a street car. If you were buying tires for the street only and did not care about wear or cost, what tire would you choose? Thank you all for helping.:flag: Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southwind25 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 CMAX, bring the porsche north to Put-In-Bay after Mid ohio! You can check out i just got some ROTA minilite style wheels. They fit perfectly with my new falken 615k's. Although they are likely heavier than panasports, the prices couldnt be beat and they look very vintage-"7" appropriate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Do you think that Panasports are really better in function than other Minilite copies? I really don't drive the car that hard since it is just a street car. If you were buying tires for the street only and did not care about wear or cost, what tire would you choose? All the Minilite copies I have seen or heard of weigh more than the light weight wheels available today. Pick the ones you like best for the looks. I have not seen the VTO wheels before and know nothing about their weight. I chose the Dunlop Direzza Star Specs for my street tires but there are many other good choices out there. BTW there is an $80 rebate currently available on the Star Specs. Tire Rack and Discount Tires are good places to buy them. Toyo R888s and RA-1s are good choices and can be used for a track or autocross day without having to have an extra set of wheels and tires. There are a number of threads on tire choices on this forum, take a look at them before you make your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I took Skip's (Scannon) advice and mounted the 4x100 wheel adapters on mine so I could also mount my Miata wheels. I also have 22 mm thick adapters, and the Enkei wheels have 38 mm offset on the 15x7, 32mm on the 15x6.5. The 15X6.5 and the 15x7 Enkei weigh around 13 pounds (w/o tire). I clear the wing stays by about 3/8" inch by the sidewall. Whether I use the Toyo T1R or the Hoosier R6, the overall weight is considerably greater than the 13" wheels that came with the car, especially with the lightweight Avon CR500 tires. The fronts with the Avon 175 55R13 are probably 6 lbs lighter, and the rears with the Avon 205 50R13 CR500 7 to 8 lbs lighter than the Enkei wheels. Its hard to beat the light weight of the Caterham wheels with Avon's fitted. I haven't been back out to the track with the Enkei wheels yet to see if the ride/performance is up or down but I do like the taller 1st gear that the larger diameter wheels provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athens7 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 The 16" wagon wheels weigh 15 lb. each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaxcliff Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Thank you to everyone. I know what to do now. You have been a great help. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Goodwin Racing has new wheels available in 15X7 and 15X8 in a 4X100 configuration that weigh around 11 lbs. If I remember correctly, they're around $180/each and only available for a limited time. Having said that, the weight of the wider tire may well offset the benefit of the lighter wheel. I was reading on the British 7 forum called "blatchat" and noticed that they are very anal about wheel and tire weights. They would likely cringe if they saw the wheels we slap on these cars but they seem to have a lot more tire choices over there in the 13" diameter than we do here. I also get the impression that their cars are more of the earlier Lotus 7 series with the smaller engines and lower HP, and thus may be more dependent on suspension factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Grassroots Motorsports magazine just did an article on the reality of wheel weight and its effect on a car's track performance. Contrary to popular wisdom, theory, common sense, etc., they discovered even large differences (As I recall, 10 lbs per wheel) had a negligible effect on track times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboeric Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 The 16" wagon wheels weigh 15 lb. each. That's actually pretty good for 16" wheels, but heavy for a 7. I second the recommendation of Goodwin Racing - they're good people to deal with. They are a dealer for 949 Racing 6UL wheels, which are highly regarded in the Miata community. Reasonably light, strong and cheap - made for a Miata racer who didn't like the range of choices for 15" wheels. You can get them 7, 7.5, 8, 9 or 10" wide. I have a set of the 8" wide ones for my track tires on the Miata, and they've been perfect. I too saw the GRM article, which confirmed what others have discovered at autocross - if you have a choice between weight and width, go for width. That said, wheel/tire weight will have an effect on ride and feel, and a 3 pound difference is a significant percentage of the weight of a 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarie Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Not to be pedantic but the 16" KN Caterham wheels weight 6.7kg or 14.74lbs. The main advantage of them is the ground clearance they provide on the street; approximately 3/4" over the 13" wheels or even the 15" wheels with the spec' 195/45-15 CR500 tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Budlite Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Here's a thread documenting my switch from the stock Birkin wheels to some Enkei RPF1/Falken RT-615's that I got from Goodwin Racing. The RPF1's are under 10 lbs in the 15 x 7 size. I've been very satisfied with the combo for my intended use: [/url]http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2557&highlight=enkei+rpf1&page=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsimon Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 We've another VX Caterham in the mad house! :cheers: Welcome Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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